Those look pretty cool but I have a hard time imagining them standing up to much abuse do to the single bearing. The amount of torque about that part of the spindle is pretty high which is why almost every pedal has a spindle going all the way through the pedal body. I would think that under a severe enough impact (drops to flat, rock gardens, etc), that single bearing would deform its part of the pedal body and cause it to get loose and wobble until it finally breaks. Thats just I think would happen. I also originally thought that lefties wouldn't be able to support any sort of weight without the wheel breaking off. just shows how much I know. Other than that, those pedals look pretty sick. tons of grip and super low profile.

Those look pretty cool but I have a hard time imagining them standing up to much abuse do to the single bearing. The amount of torque about that part of the spindle is pretty high which is why almost every pedal has a spindle going all the way through the pedal body. I would think that under a severe enough impact (drops to flat, rock gardens, etc), that single bearing would deform its part of the pedal body and cause it to get loose and wobble until it finally breaks. Thats just I think would happen. I also originally thought that lefties wouldn't be able to support any sort of weight without the wheel breaking off. just shows how much I know. Other than that, those pedals look pretty sick. tons of grip and super low profile.

Those look pretty cool but I have a hard time imagining them standing up to much abuse do to the single bearing. The amount of torque about that part of the spindle is pretty high which is why almost every pedal has a spindle going all the way through the pedal body. I would think that under a severe enough impact (drops to flat, rock gardens, etc), that single bearing would deform its part of the pedal body and cause it to get loose and wobble until it finally breaks. Thats just I think would happen. I also originally thought that lefties wouldn't be able to support any sort of weight without the wheel breaking off. just shows how much I know. Other than that, those pedals look pretty sick. tons of grip and super low profile.

Yeah, I'm not promoting them or saying anything about them really. Just something unique I saw, and everybody is always talking about the latest and greatest (and thinnest) pedals, so I thought I would share.

I hope these work!

Originally Posted by alex55

Those look pretty cool but I have a hard time imagining them standing up to much abuse do to the single bearing. The amount of torque about that part of the spindle is pretty high which is why almost every pedal has a spindle going all the way through the pedal body. I would think that under a severe enough impact (drops to flat, rock gardens, etc), that single bearing would deform its part of the pedal body and cause it to get loose and wobble until it finally breaks. Thats just I think would happen. I also originally thought that lefties wouldn't be able to support any sort of weight without the wheel breaking off. just shows how much I know. Other than that, those pedals look pretty sick. tons of grip and super low profile.

Hey Folks,

Its looks like they do use two bearings per pedal:

"Freerider is an ultra-thin pedal designed for off-road and trick riding. It features a forged body, large platform and an array of pins that allow you to customize the grip. Although it looks like it couldn’t handle much abuse, let alone the forces associated with freeriding, VP says that it uses a proprietary axle and two bearings per pedal—one to handle radial loads, and one to handle thrust loads.
Pricing info has yet to be determined, but VP assures me it, “It won’t be stupidly expensive.” Visit www.vp-usa.com for more info."

Time will tell if they make the grade but I'm voting for them to succeed. I heard from a company rep that:
• Pedal is thinner than the axle
• Spring for durability testing on the design, then rider testing
• They’re hoping to introduce this as a new model for Interbike
• You can follow their progress on FB or twitter to keep up to date

It looks like they may have cracked a pedal conundrum. That conundrum is how to manufacture a traditionally mounted pedal in which the thickness of the platform is well inside the diameter of the spindle. I’ve ridden the Flypaper pedals and currently have the Canfield Crampon pedals on 3 of my bikes so I’m aware of the benefits of this design. The Canfield pedal still positions your foot on top of the spindle and IMHO that where the Crampon is inferior to the Flypaper.

All that said I’m thankful for and appreciate the effort and innovation that Bike Doc with his Flypaper pedals, the Canfield Bros with the Crampons and these guys are all treating us to!

Take care,

Michael

If you can't keep the rubber side down......at least smile for the camera!

I love the "armchair engineers" who can look at a picture of a product and immediately delineate as to its quality, strength or durability. Truly a valuable ability.

As if it needs to be said, tons of money goes into the R&D and general engineering of a product like this well before launch. That usually means plenty of FEA and months of field/lab testing. It is very unlikely that a company will spend the tens of thousands of dollars to launch a product that they are not fully confident in.

Parts of this nature are nearly always designed to withstand double or triple the amount of stress that would ever be found in consumer use.

I love the "armchair engineers" who can look at a picture of a product and immediately delineate as to its quality, strength or durability. Truly a valuable ability.

As if it needs to be said, tons of money goes into the R&D and general engineering of a product like this well before launch. That usually means plenty of FEA and months of field/lab testing. It is very unlikely that a company will spend the tens of thousands of dollars to launch a product that they are not fully confident in.

Parts of this nature are nearly always designed to withstand double or triple the amount of stress that would ever be found in consumer use.

You are an optimist with a lot of faith. I've seen enough worthless products in my time to be extremely skeptical of the claims above. Those things do happen often, for sure, but not always. There are also plenty of half-baked ideas that make it all the way to retail, so the customers end up doing all of the product testing.

If a failed product just meant I had to rip-and-replace, it wouldn't be a big deal, but if a pedal fails at the wrong moment it will produce a trip to the hospital.

Another One!

Originally Posted by michaelsnead

Hey Folks,

Its looks like they do use two bearings per pedal:

"Freerider is an ultra-thin pedal designed for off-road and trick riding. It features a forged body, large platform and an array of pins that allow you to customize the grip. Although it looks like it couldn’t handle much abuse, let alone the forces associated with freeriding, VP says that it uses a proprietary axle and two bearings per pedal—one to handle radial loads, and one to handle thrust loads.
Pricing info has yet to be determined, but VP assures me it, “It won’t be stupidly expensive.” Visit www.vp-usa.com for more info."

Time will tell if they make the grade but I'm voting for them to succeed. I heard from a company rep that:
• Pedal is thinner than the axle
• Spring for durability testing on the design, then rider testing
• They’re hoping to introduce this as a new model for Interbike
• You can follow their progress on FB or twitter to keep up to date

It looks like they may have cracked a pedal conundrum. That conundrum is how to manufacture a traditionally mounted pedal in which the thickness of the platform is well inside the diameter of the spindle. I’ve ridden the Flypaper pedals and currently have the Canfield Crampon pedals on 3 of my bikes so I’m aware of the benefits of this design. The Canfield pedal still positions your foot on top of the spindle and IMHO that where the Crampon is inferior to the Flypaper.

All that said I’m thankful for and appreciate the effort and innovation that Bike Doc with his Flypaper pedals, the Canfield Bros with the Crampons and these guys are all treating us to!

Take care,

Michael

Hi Folks,

Here is yet another thin pedal design that looks to have the thickness of the platform well inside the diameter of the spindle. There is even less info available on these pedals than the VP pedals as I couldn’t even find the name of the manufacturer. That said here is what I found from Pinkbike:

“There isn't much info to be had on these neat looking pedals, but one has to wonder how long they would last with such a short axle. There is no arguing that they are thin! Total weight for a pair is 112 grams!”

Once again, I hope these guys make the grade as well. I say that because I believe if someone is successful bringing this design to market we’ll all benefit. The key benefit we’re missing from other traditionally mounted pedals is having the thickness of the platform well inside the diameter of the spindle. Certainly there are now a number of thin, light, large platform pedals but none, which I’m aware of, with this particular feature.

If anyone else can share some additional info on these pedals, or any other prototypes you’re aware of, I’d appreciate it.

Thanks,

Michael

If you can't keep the rubber side down......at least smile for the camera!

"Freerider is an ultra-thin pedal designed for off-road and trick riding. It features a forged body, large platform and an array of pins that allow you to customize the grip. Although it looks like it couldn’t handle much abuse, let alone the forces associated with freeriding, VP says that it uses a proprietary axle and two bearings per pedal—one to handle radial loads, and one to handle thrust loads.
Pricing info has yet to be determined, but VP assures me it, “It won’t be stupidly expensive.” Visit www.vp-usa.com for more info."

Time will tell if they make the grade but I'm voting for them to succeed. I heard from a company rep that:
• Pedal is thinner than the axle
• Spring for durability testing on the design, then rider testing
• They’re hoping to introduce this as a new model for Interbike
• You can follow their progress on FB or twitter to keep up to date

It looks like they may have cracked a pedal conundrum. That conundrum is how to manufacture a traditionally mounted pedal in which the thickness of the platform is well inside the diameter of the spindle. I’ve ridden the Flypaper pedals and currently have the Canfield Crampon pedals on 3 of my bikes so I’m aware of the benefits of this design. The Canfield pedal still positions your foot on top of the spindle and IMHO that where the Crampon is inferior to the Flypaper.

All that said I’m thankful for and appreciate the effort and innovation that Bike Doc with his Flypaper pedals, the Canfield Bros with the Crampons and these guys are all treating us to!

Take care,

Michael

Hey Folks,

Here’s an updated photo of their latest version of this pedal that they’re showing off at Sea Otter:

VP Components axle-less DH-1

It looks like they may be considering a name change which will probably happen several times again before they launch the product.

I have no idea if they can succeed regarding the durability issue but the look of this pedal is very exciting to me!

Take care,

Michael

If you can't keep the rubber side down......at least smile for the camera!

I feel your pain....I have 3 sets of Crampons! Oh Well this is a wonderful problem to have if they succeed in billing a durable product using this design. I have a feeling my jump bike and unicycle are going to be upgraded with a set of Crampons.

Take care,

Michael

If you can't keep the rubber side down......at least smile for the camera!

“When it hits production, VP's DH-1 will be their premium platform pedal, as well as the thinnest at just 6mm (not including pins). VP can use such a drastically slim body on the DH-1's because of the novel short axle that does not run through the entire width of the body - each pedal axle is well under two inches long! The stubby, but very stout looking axles will ride on a paring of a very large sealed bearing and a loose ball system. If you are wondering why VP would use a loose ball bearing, it is because it allows them to use much larger and more resilient ball bearings because they do not need the extra room of the sealed bearing's inner and outer bearing races. While the bulge in the pedal body that houses both bearings looks quite large, it is actually in the same position is the wrench flats found on a more standard pedal. Expect to see a production version of the DH-1's that will have a more refined body shape and possibly different pin positions during our coverage of Interbike 2011.”

Suddenly September feels like a long way off for this excited consumer!

Take care,

Michael

If you can't keep the rubber side down......at least smile for the camera!

Specialized Serves Up a Unique Thin Pedal!

“First off is the new Specialized flat pedal. The brainchild of FSR engineer Jason Chamberlain, the new pedal is a true 10mm thick at the spindle. Through the use of an ingenious, patented, bearing system at both ends, this slick new platform will be the absolute thinnest pedal on the market. Unlike other pedals that cheat and measure the outer edges, or have a huge lump your foot sits on, this one is concave, has a multitude of pin positions and undercut, adjustable custom pins. When hit, they will break off at the base and still be easily removed, unlike a set screw.”

Man…am I looking forward to this year’s Interbike where I believe we’ll all learn who actually has one of these in production?

Take care,

Michael

If you can't keep the rubber side down......at least smile for the camera!

When running DH, I'm wearing a full face helmet, body armor, knee pads, and 5Ten shoes, so I'm not overly concerned about a few ounces of shaved weight. I'm not racing, so its possible that this thin pedal craze isn't directed at me. Having smashed my pedals on rocks on several occasions, and being able to pedal away is excellent. Having them shatter, and stab me in the ankle, well that would suck pretty bad.
I'll keep my thick, bombproof pedals.